Get to know your local venomous snakes

Published 12:00 am, Wednesday, August 18, 2010

The timber rattlesnake is found in Southeast Texas and is a threatened spicies. AP photo

The timber rattlesnake is found in Southeast Texas and is a threatened spicies. AP photo

Photo: Beaumont

Get to know your local venomous snakes

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With all the rivers, bayous, lakes and forests in Southeast Texas, dozens of types of snakes call the region home.

One or two snakebite deaths occur each year in Texas, according to the Texas Department of State Health Service. In nearly every death, however, the culprit is the western diamondback rattlesnake - a type that does not live in Southeast Texas.

The red-and-yellow-kill-a-fellow is the most poisonous snake in Southeast Texas, but their bites account for less than one percent of United States snake bites. Coral snakes are elusive and relatively small - growing only one to two feet in length.

Rattlesnake

Two types of rattlesnakes live in Southeast Texas - the pygmy rattler and the timber rattlesnake. Both are hard to find.

The timber rattler (also called a canebrake rattlesnake) has a gray to brown color have been encountered often throughout Hardin County, especially near the Big Thicket preserve.

In most states, the snakes are protected because their populations have shrunk because of increasing urbanization. Texas lists them as threatened, and killing one can be a class C misdemeanor punishable by a $500 fine, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Code.

Pygmy rattlesnakes have been spotted on Bolivar Peninsula. Sometimes they share a habitat with the timber rattler, but both are tough to find.

Cottonmouth

Cottonmouths, also known as water moccasins, are one of the most dangerous snakes in Southeast Texas. Although their venom is not as dangerous as a coral snake, they are aggressive, said Keith Crenshaw, an urban wildlife biologist for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Two beneficial snakes are often mistaken for cottonmouths and killed - the diamondback water snake and the yellow-bellied water snake. These two are the most likely to fall into your boat, Crenshaw said, but both kill and eat cottonmouths.